NAR: California metro areas all perform differently

November 28, 2007

The 3Q 2007 numbers from the National Association of Realtors shows a 2% decline in the median price for a single-family home sold during the 3rd quarter of 2007 from the same time last year. But where is the most damage? Certainly Sacramento (-10.50%) and Riverside/San Berdo (-7.60%), whereas there were INCREASES in the SF-Oakland-Fremont (+8.60%) and the Silicon Valley areas (+9.40%).

For condos and co-ops, median prices actually went up by 2% nationally: for California they rose by 1.10% in L.A. County and 5.50% in SF-Oakland-Fremont but fell by 2.50% in San Diego County.

So does this mean prices for an individual home are holding steady or are the figures simply a reflection of where the sales activity lies (the median is the midpoint for all sales)? Probably the latter, as the S&P/Case-Shiller index (which tracks sales of the same single-family homes) fell by 4.5% nationally during the same time period (and -7% in L.A. alone).